Buyers now need to earn a huge £63,655 a year to even get a toe on the housing ladder in Gloucestershire.

Figures produced by campaigners show that even if people have a large deposit, soaring house prices mean couples need to earn £63,655 before tax to obtain an 80 per cent mortgage on an average property in the county.

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The situation is bad across Gloucestershire but worse in the Cotswolds where the number of second homes has soared and house prices are around £397,000, about 50 per cent higher than the rest of the county.

Without a huge investment from the Bank of Mum and Dad, young couples would find it impossible to buy a house in the Cotswolds while earning the average Gloucestershire salary of £27,659.

For sale signs

And for those who could never even dream of buying a house, the 30,000 affordable properties owned by housing associations are also out of reach for most.

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But it is unlikely to placate campaigners like Garry King, Chief Executive of Two Rivers Housing, who believes much more needs to be done and said: “This annual Home Truths report shows a worsening picture every year.

“There is a yawning gap between people’s earnings and borrowing capacity and the cost of getting a mortgage or renting a home privately.

“There’s also a chronic shortage of homes of all types in this area and the pressure is on to build enough new properties to give people the chance of finding somewhere to live which suits their budget, work opportunities, family and social connections, or simply their personal choice.”

Building plot in the Forest (Image: rightmove)

He wants more land to be freed up for building to address the shortfall, and the land that is available to be built on as soon as possible.

“Any barriers to development need to be addressed urgently,” he added.

Two Rivers, which has developments across Gloucestershire, is committed to building at least 1,000 homes over the next 10 years – around 100 new homes a year.

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But they say with wages below national average, high levels of unemployment, a shortage of affordable properties, and increasing food and energy prices, buying their own home is an unaffordable dream for most people in Gloucestershire today.

The National Housing Federation annual ‘Home Truths’ report for 2017/18 looks at housing demand, supply and affordability across the country.

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Regionally, house prices have risen by nearly £14,000 in the last year.

The average house in the South West costs more than 10 times typical earning

The average family would need a household income of at least £61,700 to afford a mortgage.

The average cost of renting is over £700 per month, swallowing up around 36 per cent of local incomes

More than 20 per cent of all second homes in the UK are located in the South West, increasing prices for local people.

Cotswold Grange homes being built at former garage in Hatherley

HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS

Housing associations in the South West built over 4,200 homes in 2016-2017, and started a further 4,100.

Two Rivers schemes currently in development, or starting on site within the next six months, include homes in Gloucester (29), Newent (79), Tutshill (54), Tetbury (19), Staunton (11) and Tewkesbury (162), across a range of tenures including affordable rent and Shared Ownership. Planning permission is awaited on a scheme of 21 homes at Alfrick in Worcestershire and seven at Stagholt in Stroud which, collectively, includes 20 for private sale.

The NHF have welcomed £2 billion investment to allow new homes to be built for social rent – the first time such funding has been available since 2010.

The NHF spokesman said: “Certainty over future rents and recognition for supported and sheltered housing are steps in the right direction.

“The Government must now deliver the final part of the jigsaw: the long-term supply of affordable land. Only then will the right amount of homes, of the right kind, in the right places, be built to meet changing housing needs.”

You can view the Home Truths 2017/18 report on the housing market in the South West at www.housing.org.uk/hometruths